Models of school breakfast program implementation in Western Australia and the implications for supporting disadvantaged students.

• The flexibility of the Foodbank WA school breakfast program (SBP) enables it to be tailored to specific community needs. • The characteristics of SBPs in WA reflect the extent of integration with strategic planning and whole-school approach to health promotion. • Comprehensive and inclusive SBPs are associated with whole school strategies to increase student/family engagement and build community capacity and cohesion. • Positive SBP social environments can smoothe students' transition to the classroom, improve learning engagement and reduce inappropriate behavior. • The benefits of SBPs seen at the classroom level translate to greater calm, order and positive tone at the whole school level. A substantial body of literature points to the educational and social benefits of school breakfast programs. Most high-income countries provide free or subsidized school breakfasts to support disadvantaged children. Australia does not have a nationally-funded school meal program. Instead, charitable organizations offer school breakfast programs on a voluntary basis, often with funding support from state/territory governments. Decisions about participating in a school breakfast program (SBP), which students to support, and the degree of integration with other strategies to support disadvantaged students are made at the school level. This large-scale, multi-year study examined models of SBP implementation in Western Australian (WA) schools and stakeholder perceptions of the impact of SBPs at the classroom and whole school level. Findings indicate that the approaches adopted by WA schools reflect the extent to which SBPs are part of an integrated approach to supporting disadvantaged students. Minimalist approaches were evident where the focus was limited to alleviating hunger. More inclusive, resource‐intensive models were apparent where the SBP was positioned within a whole school approach to student wellbeing and/or community capacity-building. All schools reported benefits for disadvantaged students, however, the social benefits of SBPs that manifested at the classroom and whole school level were more pronounced in schools that had adopted more integrated, whole school approaches. The findings have implications for Australian schools and other countries that seek to optimize the role of SBPs to provide more holistic support for vulnerable students and reduce the impact of social and economic disadvantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]